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Every so often I think about what would motivate me to sell my 2008 C2S.
Not the DFI motor of the .2. Not the need for speed of a Turbo or GTS. Clearly not a PDK (sorry but still love the engagement of a manual). It is about the non leather interior and my wish for leather. The leather door panels, the leather dash and maybe some other leather items that I cannot recall right now, these are the things that would make my car perfect. I am not thinking about redoing the seats with some diamond pattern Bentley seating. Do any of you have the same feelings about the leather interior?
Has anyone gone through the conversion to leather? Is it stupid expensive to find leather parts (either new or recycled).
I watch these car build shows on Motor Trend TV and the creation of beautiful leather interiors. Why can't an expert in auto interiors wrap the dash, and create the door panels? Would it be more expensive than OEM parts? I am sure someone on Rennlist has either done this or has researched the cost to convert.
I am personally not the biggest fan of leather in cars. I prefer alcantara, or even a cool looking cloth to leather. I dont have anything against leather, just like some of the other options better.
That being said, I wouldnt sell your car just to get another one with a few leather bits inside. Just keep an eye on ebay or the Porsche forums for the leather OEM wrapped pieces. If it were me, I would try and get a set with deviated stitching, if I were going to go through the bother of swapping it all.
Just to note, I did do something similar on my Audi S6, and I never regretted it for a second. %99.999 percent of the C6 S6's come with a vinyl dash and grey surround. I went through the huge hassle of tracking down an ultra rare alcantara wrapped OEM piece from Germany off an RS6 Exclusive option car. It made the world of difference to the interior.
The stock car looked something like this...
These are the pieces I installed, along with carbon trim
I feel for you. I wish mine was full leather but the other attributes out weighed it when I purchased the car. Anyways, I would think it would be 'stupid' expensive as you put it. I haven't looked into it but I would think it is the labor cost. I guess it really depends on how much you want to spend. This is what I found " Factoring in the cost of a well-made interior is often overlooked, too. McCleese says an entry-level leather interior will set you back at least [b=left]$4,500[/b] and the average cost of custom interior can go as high as [b=left]$15,000[/b] to [b=left]$20,000[/b]. Bell says the starting point for a street rod interior will cost at least [b=left]$6,500[/b]. "
There are a few roads as i see it with your wish and either paths will depend how "OEM" you would like your upgrades to look when compared to a full leather OEM car.
1 - Go thru someone like Suncoast as they do offer such upgrades but they are nowhere close to being economical $$$
2 - Find yourself an old school auto upholsterer (they are out there) and source out exactly the materials you want and style. If you are mechanically inclined and can remove door panels and such I have found that such shops would be more willing to do such work, and much more cost effectively at the same time due to not having your car take up their space for weeks on end. To me this would me a nice off season project.
3 - Search ebay / websites as I have found such items being listed from wrecks etc.
I too love my 997.1 C4s and do not really yearn for anything else .... I think they are perfect road cars that pretty much provide the full driving experience with a perfect balance of old & not too much "new".
I have thought about it and am waiting for a reason to do some restoration at the same time.
I know I am doing it for my own enjoyment and it would not add to resale.
There is a local shop that advertises in the local and national PCA magazines. http://www.classic9leathershop.com/
I have visited it but I have to decide what I want to do.
Troll Ebay and some dismantler sites for the leather pieces. I replaced all the non leather parts to make my older 997.1 a full leather vehicle except for the dash, as the part is $1500 and the install probably similar. Found a local guy selling the interior and got it all minus the dash for ~$500. Easily installed it myself in a day.
The parts that make the biggest visual difference are the doors, stereo side piece, dash and the extended leather vents which is in front of the dash with the center speaker.
I think you could easily find the parts for less than $1000 except for the dash. Really easy to install the doors, A pillar, glovebox and under dash area. Doing the B and C pillars, rear panels require taking seatbelts off, but very doable.
Door panels and verticle pieces next to the radio are easy to source used and easy to install. My mechanic buddy says the dash removal and replacement is a bear.
I completely understand the desire for leather. You can get the door and quarter panels pretty easily. The dash is the big problem as people mentioned because people need them to repair cars when the airbag goes off. I was luckily able to find a full leather car when I bought my 997.2. Since then I have added a leather center console and sun visors that I was able to find used. I am on the hunt for the defroster trims right now, I already have the center speaker cover in leather.
Could you convince yourself that not having leather makes it a more humble stripped down purist's car?
I say those words several times while shaving in the morning. I sound like I am chanting some prayer. But it is not working. My only resistance is knowing that I would pay "stupid" money for such a conversion and that is not in my DNA.
Ebay and rl/6speed classifieds. a simple ebay search revealed plenty of options. someone stripping a car for track duty would be perfect but you can get the individual pieces.
Prepare to pay $2k or so for good quality parts, sans dash.
What color is your interior? If not black, a black dash and door trim and wheel could make a huge difference. If black, consider a good local place to do custom in Alcantara or leather. If you are keeping the car for years you won't mind spending a few thousand for the extra pleasure, and it will help a little on resale.
Check out dismantlers like LAPD and DC Auto (and eBay) for take off parts or someone like 928 Shop to have your existing stuff recovered. There is also Hershey, PA in April which is a huge gathering of Porsches and a swap meet.
01-18-2019, 10:40 AM
How to manage my lust for a leather interior
